Epilogue

SKYE

"You look stunning."

I dropped my gaze to look down at my outfit. I wasn't all dolled up in a fancy dress, but I wasn't casual like I'd be when going to work, either.

I'd landed somewhere between those two looks, leaning slightly toward the fancier side.

Returning my attention to him, I smiled and asked, "Do you like it?"

Cooper stepped forward, slid an arm around my waist, and touched his mouth to mine. "I love it. Not as much as I love you, of course."

Warmth hit the center of my chest and spread out through the rest of my body from there. "I love you, too."

With his arm still firmly wrapped around me, Cooper asked, "Are you ready for some fun today?"

I nodded. "I'm eager to see what you have planned, but I've got to be honest. It really doesn't matter to me what we do. I'm just excited to spend my day with you. We could have stayed here all day and celebrated with a piece of cake, and I would have been over the moon."

"Cake? You mean, you wouldn't have preferred some kind of dessert-style bread?"

Laughter escaped. "See what you've done to me? I can't even remember all the things I would have normally requested for a day like today, because the only thing that matters to me is being with you."

Cooper kissed me again. This one wasn't just a simple peck. He'd taken it a bit deeper, unwilling to ignore how much it meant to him to hear how much I enjoyed spending my time with him.

Kissing Cooper was one of my favorite things in the world, so I didn't mind at all. And considering today was my birthday, I thought it was only fair I got extras of those anyway.

When I thought back to the beginning of the year, there was a specific day I could remember with such explicit detail.

It was the beginning of March—the 5th, to be exact—and it had been about a month since I'd received that email from Simon that contained the confession of his infidelity. It was also Maria's birthday. She'd been my best friend for so long, and we'd always spent our birthdays together.

That day, I spent more time than I cared to admit feeling sad. Because not only was I forced to think about how she was likely spending her birthday with my ex-boyfriend, but I realized just how alone I would be when November rolled around.

It would have been one thing for Simon to cheat on me. As betrayed and broken-hearted as I would have felt, at least I would have still had my best friend. We could have continued to be in each other's lives and celebrated the times that were meant to be happy.

Unfortunately, since they had both been willing to hurt me like that, I spent Maria's birthday coming to grips with just how lonely I was and would likely always be.

Now, I had Cooper.

He was the best thing that had ever happened to me. And ever since he'd had that last encounter with Simon months ago outside my place, I'd be fortunate not to see or hear from Simon or Maria again.

It was the biggest relief. It wasn't that I still had any feelings for Simon, but I didn't want the constant reminder of my foolishness to trust Simon or Maria, nor did I want their betrayal thrown in my face all the time.

I couldn't have been more grateful to Cooper for finally putting an end to that nightmare of a situation for me.

But that wasn't all Cooper had done for me. Today, he was giving me something else. He was making it so I never had to experience a lonely birthday. If anything, I had a feeling I was in for something extra special today—something beyond the gifts he'd given me this morning—but I didn't have a clue what.

Earlier today, while we'd had breakfast, Cooper had given me two gifts. They had been so unexpected, but the gesture made me feel so loved.

I tore the first package open and found Cooper had placed some paperwork inside a box. Initially, I was rather confused by it, because the paperwork was covered in drawings. I had not a clue what I was looking at.

"What is this?" I asked.

One half of Cooper's mouth quirked up. "I wish I could have done this ahead of time to surprise you, but I didn't want to make assumptions about how you'd want it done. These are drawings of the loft I'd like to build in your store for you to host your book club meetings. You could have the space set up for the meetings all the time and not need to rearrange your store each month."

My jaw fell open. "Are you serious?"

His chin jerked down slightly. "Yes. If you don't like it and want to change something about the design, I can definitely do that for you."

It was a miracle I hadn't burst into tears on the spot. I quickly offered him a kiss and said, "Thank you."

Then I kept it together long enough to look inside the gift bag he'd also given me. I pulled off the tissue paper, revealed the contents of the bag, and felt something squeeze in my chest.

I looked up at Cooper and asked, "Did you make this?"

He nodded.

Reaching inside the bag, I pulled out the metal vase that contained three handmade metal roses. I pulled out one of the roses to inspect Cooper's flawless work and said, "These are beautiful."

"There's one for each of them," he explained. "Your mom, dad, and grandmother. I remembered you telling me a few months ago how you hated when your flowers your dad would give you would die. Just as the memories you have with them live on your heart and mind always, now you'll have flowers that can do the same. These flowers will never die, just like the love you have for your family."

I didn't stand a chance. This gift meant everything to me, and holding back the tears was no longer an option.

Cooper held me in his arms, hushing me and murmuring reassuring words. I was utterly overwhelmed by the love he had for me and the ways he continued to show me how we could have such different opinions on things like favorite colors or seasons, or even differences in our demeanor and the way we handled situations, but deep down where it really mattered, our values were very much the same.

Everything he'd done for me since the day I met him had involved him going that extra mile for me. I loved him so much for it.

And the day wasn't done yet, even if I had not a clue where the day would take us.

The only information I'd gotten from him was that he'd made plans for my birthday, and he wanted me to make sure I gave myself the day off.

So, that's exactly what I did.

Cooper spent the night last night and woke me up with his mouth between my legs this morning. Following a long lovemaking session, we cuddled and fell back asleep. And when we woke again a bit later, he cooked breakfast for us.

We had a slow and lazy morning with one another, and it was delightful.

But at some point, Cooper told me I had to get myself ready, because he was taking me out for the rest of the day, and it was starting with lunch.

Or perhaps the celebration was starting before lunch. Because Cooper was still kissing me, and I was just grateful he had his arm wrapped around my waist. I was dizzy with the scent of him around me and the taste of him on my tongue.

I was convinced we might have kept ourselves there all afternoon, completely content, if it hadn't been for the fact that Cooper's phone rang.

He groaned his frustration at having to tear his mouth from mine and reached his hand into his pocket to pull out his phone. "It's my mom," he said.

"Answer it," I urged him.

"Hi, Mom."

I had no choice but to watch and listen to Cooper as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and held me close to his body.

After a brief pause, he said, "Can it wait until tomorrow? I was just getting ready to take Skye out for her birthday."

Silence again while his mom responded.

"Yeah, we are going out to dinner tonight, but I had some things planned for this afternoon, too. We were just about to leave her place to grab some lunch," he explained. "Have you called Liam? He should be able to fix it, and it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes or so."

There was another pause. From what I could gather, his parents needed something fixed, and since Cooper was the handy one of the bunch, they were calling him. But from what I knew, Liam was just as capable of handling most things that Cooper could.

"He's sick? What's wrong with him?"

Evidently, Liam wasn't going to be able to help them out.

Cooper sighed, clearly frustrated. Whatever they needed done didn't seem like a big deal.

"We can stop there on the way," I whispered.

"Wait. Wait, Mom. Hang on a second," he declared, turning his attention to me. "What did you say?"

"If your parents need help with fixing something and it's only going to take twenty minutes, we can just stop over there before lunch," I suggested.

"But it's your birthday," he reasoned.

I nodded. "I know. But I don't mind stopping over there, so you can help them. Come on. The longer we stand here, the longer until we can start celebrating."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked.

"Positive."

He hesitated a beat before focusing on the phone call again. "Alright, Mom. We'll stop there first. But if it takes longer than expected, I might need to come back tomorrow." Another pause. "Alright. We'll see you in a few minutes."

Cooper disconnected the call, slid his phone back into his pocket, and turned sympathetic eyes in my direction. "I'm sorry. They're having a problem with the kitchen sink. I could explain all the details to you now, but we'll just delay getting our day together started. Are you all set to go?"

I nodded. "Yes."

A minute later, Cooper and I were in his truck and on the way to his parents' house. Though it would have been disappointing to have whatever plans Cooper came up with for my birthday ruined, it seemed we'd still be able to make it all happen and help his parents out of a bind. Plus, I hadn't seen his mom and dad since they'd had a small celebration for Liam's birthday at the end of October. They normally had such lavish celebrations, but Liam wasn't up for it. So, he settled for a dinner with his family. And considering it hadn't been anything extravagant by Westwood family standards, I still thought it was lovely.

Over the last couple of months, I'd grown closer with Cooper's family, especially his mom and grandmother. And while I knew they would never replace the space in my heart reserved for my own family, I was eager to latch on to Cooper's family.

They made me feel welcome all the time, and I no longer felt like an outsider. It was almost as though I'd become one of them. I was an only child, but the way Cooper's siblings treated me, I felt like their sister. The boys occasionally joked around with me—mostly about how much Cooper's mood had improved since I came into the picture—and the girls didn't hesitate to bring me into the fold, too. Larry and Malcolm had also been extremely loving and kind toward me, too, treating me the way I knew my dad would have if he had still been alive.

As much as I adored all of them, it was the newfound relationship I had with Wendy and Evelyn that impacted me the most. The way they included me and looked after me reminded me of my grandmother and my mom. And when they'd both invited me to come help with their gardening as they prepared to head into the fall and winter months, my heart had all but exploded in my chest.

I'd been so devastated for so long about all that I'd lost, and in the months that I'd known Cooper, I'd gotten far more than I ever imagined possible. He gave me a family that I'd never want to let go of.

Before I knew it, we'd pulled into the driveway at his parents' estate. Cooper came around to open my door, then held my hand as we walked to the front door. As I learned a while ago, none of the Westwood children ever knocked when they arrived at the house. If their parents were expecting them, the door was always unlocked.

Cooper opened the door and urged me inside ahead of him. After he closed the door, he guided me forward with his hand at the small of my back.

And that's when it happened.

"Surprise!"

I came to an abrupt halt on the spot and took in the scene.

Cooper's entire family was there. Even Liam was standing there with a smile on his face. Apparently, he wasn't sick.

My wide eyes scanned the crowed, before they fell on Cooper. "What did you do?"

He grinned at me. "We're celebrating your birthday."

I was in shock. "You planned a surprise party for me?"

"Did you think there was any chance we wouldn't make a big deal about your birthday?" he countered. "This family doesn't ever miss the opportunity for a celebration, sweetheart. Just enjoy it."

"Happy birthday, Skye."

That came from Jules, who had been the first to approach. She opened her arms to me and hugged me tight. For the next several minutes, I was greeted by every member of Cooper's family. Even his best friend, Marco, was there. Ava was still on tour, so sadly, she wasn't in attendance. But even without Ava, it was still the best thing anyone had ever done for me.

When Cooper came into my life, I thought I was lucky to have met him. Meeting his family and becoming close with them as well was icing on the cake. There was no question just how fortunate I was. His family meant so much to me, and it meant the world they had gone to the trouble to plan a party for me.

After getting a round of hugs and birthday wishes, Evelyn said, "We've got all the food set up in the kitchen, so why don't we head out there and get started? Then we'll have time for fun and games before dessert."

As everyone made their way toward the kitchen, I stopped and sought out Cooper. Wrapping both arms around his neck, I lifted on my toes and pressed a kiss to his mouth. "Do you know how much I love you?"

His lips twitched with his amusement. "I have a pretty good idea."

"This means everything to me, Cooper. Thank you for planning this."

"To be fair, it was my idea to throw the surprise party for you, but the heavy lifting was done by my mom, my gram, and my sisters. I think my Aunt Mina was involved, too. I told them what I wanted, and they took care of it all."

I smiled against his lips. "I'll be sure to give them extra thanks."

Tipping his head to the side, a mischievous grin washed over his expression. "What about me? Do I get extra thanks?"

I giggled. "I think you already knew that was coming, even before I knew about the party. This has been such a special day, and it's just barely started."

He smiled at me. "Are you happy?"

"Very."

"Good. Let's catch up with everyone in the kitchen, so you can fully enjoy your party."

With that, Cooper led me out into the kitchen. And the minute I walked in to see all that his family had done, my heart swelled in my chest.

I loved Cooper.

I adored his family.

And I was so grateful to feel like I'd found a place I belonged with people who truly loved and cared about me in return.

Cooper Westwood had changed my life. I was thankful every single day for the gust of wind that sent that piece of wood flying through the front door of my bookshop and the guy who believed it was fate that made it happen.